


You saved me

by JenLionheart



Series: Love Among The Dead [2]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, Apocalypse, Blowjobs, Character Death, Cunnilingus, F/M, Fighting, Fluff, Hand Jobs, Injury, Love, Merle Dixon Lives, Pain, Past Abuse (mentioned), Protective Daryl, Recovery, Romance, Scars, Shower Sex, Sleepy Cuddles, Smut, Torture, Violence, Woodbury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-10 02:58:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5568184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenLionheart/pseuds/JenLionheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the part where the group faces Woodbury and the Governor. It will be an ordeal that put`s Daryl and Jay`s newfound relationship to the test. And then there`s Merle..</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gut instinct

 

You know that feeling, when the hairs on the back of your neck stands up, and something makes all your senses go razor sharp all of a sudden? That`s instinct. And as the day went on, Jay Larson was starting to get that feeling..

With all that tension in her body, she felt like a coiled spring, ready to pop. She couldn`t quite put her finger on it, but something just wasn`t right. She eventually handed Judith over to Carol and took a walk outside along the fence. Just watching the treelines, listening. 

Daryl walked up to her after his perimeter check, standing beside her and following her gaze among the trees. “What is it?” he asks worriedly, since the woman looked ready to go to war or something. Her brows are furrowed, eyes narrow as she keeps watching, waiting. “I don`t know.. But something`s wrong.. I can`t explain it, Daryl. I just _feel_ it..” she says distantly. Daryl frowns. But he knows better then to argue with gut-instincts, it`s usually acting up in people for a reason. And as it were, he`d been feeling it too for the last hour or so. “Maybe I`m just being paranoid” she sighs and meets his eyes. When she sees his darkened expression she asks; “You feel it too, don`t you?”. He nods, fingers tightening around the strap to his crossbow, slung over his shoulder. So, maybe not so paranoid after all, she thinks. “Let`s check the perimeter again, yeah?” she suggests and he grunts an agreeing reply.

 

#

 

“Dad, should we help her?” Jay hears Carl ask just as she lays eyes on a black woman with dreads limping around outside the fence with a badly injured leg. Jay goes right up to the fence to get a closer look, but she can`t see what kind of wound it is from this distance.  “Is that a bite?” Jay asks urgently, the woman shakes her head. “No, it`s a gunshot” she replies and stabs a walker -with a.. _samurai sword?_ -, almost losing her balance in the process. That it wasn`t a bite was all Jay really needed to know and so she opens the gate, ignoring the loud protests from both Rick and Daryl. She runs right over to the injured woman and slips her shoulder underneath the woman`s arm, to steady her as they get surrounded by walkers pretty quickly. “Daryl!” she calls and a second later an arrow swishes past them, killing the walker closest to them. “I got it, jus` get inside!” he grumbles back, slightly pissed that she would put herself in danger for a complete stranger. Jay quickly helps the woman inside the fence as Daryl and Rick clear a path for them. Carl closes the gate as while the two men watch his back. 

Jay leads the injured woman inside the prison, choosing one of the unoccupied rooms away from the group. “Just sit down here. I`ll be right back with something for your leg, alright?” she says and the woman nods, her lips form a tight line, clearly in pain.

 

Jay hasn`t been gone long, but as she returns with her medical bag, she sees Rick squeeze the woman`s wound, making her yelp and shove him off. Then Daryl closes in on her. They`re both ganging up on the poor woman. Though Rick at least has the good sense to back off once he sees the seriously pissed off look Jay sends them as she walks over, Daryl however doesn`t. “If ya don`t start talkin` ya gonna have a much bigger problem than a gunshot wound!” Daryl growls, pointing his cross bow right in her face. “Daryl! That`s enough!” Jay snaps at him, shoving his bow away forcefully and settling in front of the black woman with her med-kit. She gives her an apologetic look.

“Don`t worry about him. He`s got a lot of bark in him, but he doesn`t bite unless you give him a reason to. Rick`s the same” she says with a hint annoyance in her voice, opening up her kit to look for the things she`ll need to care for wound like hers. She can feel Daryl glaring daggers into the back of her head, but she ignores him, she`s got a patient to take care of. She takes the scissors out first, to cut the fabric around the wound, so she can see more clearly what she`s dealing with. “My name is Jay, by the way. I`m a nurse” she tells the woman who seems to be calming down a lot more now that Jay`s in the room. “Michonne” she replies cautiously and Jay smiles. “Well, it`s nice to meet you, Michonne. The stubborn one to my right, that`s Rick, he`s sort of our leader. And the one with the obvious anger issues is Daryl, my boyfriend” she says and there`s a small twitch of a smile on Michonne`s face. Amazingly, the two men stay quiet for once. They probably realise that she`s more likely to talk to Jay at this point, since she`s been nothing but friendly so far. Good cop, bad cop.

“How did you find us?” Jay asks while readying the suture kit. Michonne hesitates for a moment and Jay waits patiently, knowing full well that trust isn`t easily given these days. “I met someone from your group” she replies after a while. Jay frowns at her. “An asian guy and a woman” she clarifies. Jay looks at Daryl briefly, then back at Michonne. “That`s got to be Glenn and Maggie. Where are they?” she asks worriedly, they hadn`t seen them since early this morning. “He took them” Michonne says shortly.

“Who did?” Daryl demands, stepping closer again, much to Jay`s annoyance, now`s really not the time to make more threats. “The same bastard that shot me!” she snaps, and Jay takes Michonne`s hands into hers to regain her attention, her eyes pleading with her. “Do you know where they are? _Please_ , they`re our friends, our _family_..” she begs and Michonne`s eyes soften a tiny bit, and she nods. “There`s a place. A town. Called Woodbury” she begins, telling the story, about Andrea, the governor, maggie and glenn.. Rick and Daryl immidiately starts asking about the layout of the town, their defenses, and Michonne tells them everything..

 

#

 

While Rick and Daryl talks it all over with the group, Jay`s in her cell rummaging through her things. Changing her clothes and arming herself while running a mental check list in her head. Her longsleeved grey shirt, check. Black pants, check. Her three best throwing knives tucked into her boots, check. Her twin double-edged tactical knives sheathed on her hips, check.. Medical supplies? Will we need them? _Oh God_..

She sits down on the edge of her bed, resting her elbows on her knees. Just needing to breathe for a moment. In this new world shit hits the fan so fast, leaving the poor fuckers who were stuck in it struggling to play catch-up. How could this happen? She was so worried for Maggie and Glenn. Why were they taken? What were those people doing to them? From what Michonne had told them about the Governor, she was afraid that they were being tortured. And the thought of someone hurting her friends made her stomach turn.

A tap on the bars made her look up and she sees Hershel standing there with a grim expression on his face. “I thought you could use this” he says, handing her a small med-kit, one that she can easily carry with her. “Just in case” he tells her and she nods, the `in case they were hurt` went unsaid. For a second she had forgotten that this was _his_ daughter and his son in law that was being held captive, and she stands up to give Hershel a fierce hug. It had to be extremely hard for him to stay behind, but they couldn`t risk both their doctor _and_ their nurse, and Jay was quicker, younger. So it was decided that she would go and he would stay. “We`ll get them back, I promise” she says firmly and he nods. “I know you will” he says steadily, even though he feels anything but steady.

 

#

 

When Jay was heading back towards Rick and the others she was suddenly grabbed by her shoulders and dragged into a dark corner away from the others, she almost screamed but she quickly recognised the rough hands on her body. “Daryl? What are you—mmpf!” he claimed her lips forcefully, stopping her mid-sentence, not that she could remember what she was saying, nor did she care anymore. She wrapped a hand around his neck and pulled him closer, he sighed happily in approval. When they finally broke for air, she raised her eyebrows in an amused sort of what-the-hell? He ducked his head, looking a little sheepish. “Sorry.. I.. Um.. I jus` needed to.. Before we go, ya know?” he tried to explain to his shoes and she put her hand over her mouth, laughing quietly. He makes a face at her reaction, but she just kisses it off of him before saying; “You are adorable and I love you” she smiles and he blushes as usual. As they walk back towards the group, Jay pinches his ass, making him yelp. “That`s for scaring the crap out of me!” she tells him and he huffs at her while she giggles.

 


	2. The rescue

Sneaking into Woodbury undetected was easy enough, but keeping it that way was another thing entirely. There were a lot of guards on the wall, and a few on the ground as well. Each one carrying a machinegun or a rifle. One of those guards was getting a little to close for comfort, but Rick took him out from behind with a knife, hardly making a sound while doing it, and dragged the guy behind one of the cars by the gate. Jay was impressed, but then he was a cop before all this. Michonne caught their attention and pointed out where she believed they were holding Maggie and Glenn. And they all moved steadily in that direction, keeping as low to the ground as possible behind the several vehicles parked along the way. They soon realised that they would be completely exposed the last few meters before the doors, which was cause for concern, but they weren`t turning back now. Not when they were so close. Michonne and Daryl made it across without incident, then it was Rick`s turn. Of course that was when all Hell broke lose.

Bullets started flying everywhere and it was complete chaos. Jay and Michonne weren`t packing guns, which they were regretting by now. Rick was firing back as well as he could, but he didn`t have the best angle from where he was sitting croached behind a yellow car. Michonne had managed to get inside she noticed, but Daryl was a bit stuck. He only had a pillar for cover and a lot of bullets were bouncing off of that thing right now. Jay followed their path with her eyes back to the shooter and gritted her teeth, moving in the shadows to get closer to her target. Daryl spotted her and cursed under his breath.

Jay quietly snuck up behind the hispanic man that was shooting at her boyfriend, grabbed him with one hand over his mouth and stabbed him in the throat with the other. She took his machine gun after a brief moment of hesitation and jumped behind the car where Rick was already hiding. She ejected the mag, counted the rounds left and shoved it back in. Scouting out across street, she could spot at least four gunmen. She turns to Rick with a determined look on her face. “I`ll cover you, go!” she tells him and leans over the hood of the car, firing in small bursts towards the shooters. Watching them drop behind whatever cover they could find. Rick made it over, and waved at Jay to follow, firing off a few rounds with his M16 to keep the shooters occupied. She took a deep breath and ran for it, doing a drop-and-roll maneuver the last two meters when she heard bullets hitting the ground right behind her. She was actually surprised that it worked out so well, she had only seen that move in movies for christs sake. Jay then quickly took a knee beside Rick and started firing again, dropping not just one, but two of the shooters. Daryl turned his head, raising both eyebrows at her in surprise and she shrugged innocently. “What? I said I didn`t _like_ guns, not that I don`t know how to use `em” she said and he snorted in bemusement, shaking his head. Rick signaled for them to follow him, and they slipped inside the building, shooting anyone that got in their way.

 

#

 

Daryl shouts from a room ahead that`s he`s found him and Jay rushes forward, knowing that _him_ must mean Glenn. When she first lays eyes on her friend, she feels sick to her stomach. There`s blood on the floor, a dead walker in the corner and a broken chair with bloody ropes on it. He`s been beaten badly, his face is all bruised and swollen. She kneels beside him and hugs him as carefully as she can manage. “Can you walk?” she asks shakily and he nods, a bit of blood trinkling down from his mouth. She nods back and helps him up, supporting his weight as they move through the narrow corridors. Rick emerges a moment later from another room with a frazzled-looking Maggie and she runs straight into Glenn`s arms as soon as she spots him, nearly crushing the poor man in her relief. They`re both crying, and Jay`s fighting back a few tears of her own while urging them to keep moving. 

She picks up pieces of a conversation between Daryl and Rick, and her heart clenches at the desperation in Daryl`s voice. “...but he`s my brother, I...”, “..Look at what he did..” she hears Rick argue and she looks at Glenn with wide eyes, realisation hitting her like a ton of bricks. _Oh my God._. “..if I can jus`talk to`im, maybe I can work somethin` out?...” Daryl pleads. He sounds so broken, and she can understand that, it`s his brother. But for fucks sake, he beat the crap out Glenn! He was probably the same guy who took them in the first place, _and_ who shot Michonne! Fuck, what a mess.. “..I need you!... Are you with me?..” she hears Rick ask, and Daryl must have said yes because they`re heading towards her and the others. Daryl doesn`t look at her as he goes past her, and she can read the turmoil inside his head written all over his face.

As soon as they open the doors, daryl throws a couple of smoke granades outside, to give them some cover. He had taken them of the prison guards when they first cleared the prison apparently. Jay hands her gun to Maggie as she focuses on helping Glenn get across the street to take cover behind the cars. It`s dark, bullets are flying everywhere, adrenaline`s pumping high through all of them. When across she switches with Maggie, taking up position in front of them, firing at anything that moves that isn`t them. She picks up a few extra mags from the fallen as they make their way towards the small gap they came in through. Because of the chaos and fighting, they get separated. She can only see Glenn and Maggie, and they have to make a decision. In the end, they just make a run for it, hoping for the best..

 

#

 

They kept moving until they felt they were far enough away to risk resting. Safely within the cover of the forest, Glenn and Maggie huddle together on the ground, leaning their backs against a birch tree. Jay`s happy to have gotten them out of there, but she`s starting to get that feeling again. That something`s really wrong.. It`s been almost two hours since they last saw the others. Jay checks Glenn over while they wait. She pulls the small med-kit Hershel provided her with from her belt and smiles at Maggie. “Care-package from your dad” she says as she opens the small bag and gets to work. She smiles a little at the mention of her father. “Is he okay?” she asks and Jay nods. “Worried sick about you and probably more than a little pissed about having to stay behind, but other than that he`s alright” Jay muses, making Maggie chuckle.

When they finally see Rick and Michonne walking towards them, it`s a relief, but then Jay sees that Daryl`s not with them.. She feels a chill run down her spine. “Where is he?” she asks Rick, panic starting to set in her bones. He hesitates, opening and closing his mouth, which is all she needs to understand what`s happened. Daryl`s still in Woodbury, alone.. _Aw, Hell no!_ She thinks angrily. She shoulders the machine gun she stole of the guy in town, pocketing the extra mags and checks her knives before she starts walking. Rick stops her by grabbing her arm.

“Where are you going?” he asks urgently and she glares at him, yanking her arm from his grip. “Where do you think?! I`m going back for him, and so help me God, Rick, if you try to stop me I will shoot you!” she growls low and warningly. By the dark look in her eyes, Rick doesn`t doubt for a second that she would. He steps back slowly, holding his hands up. “Jay, I wasn`t going to leave him there. But we can`t go back without a plan” he tries to reason with her. She narrows her eyes. “Oh, I`ve got a plan. I`m gonna kill anything that stands between me and that stubborn redneck of mine, and then I`m gonna bring him home” she says darkly, daring him to fight her on it. “I`m going with you” Maggie pipes up from behind her, ignoring the horrified protests from Glenn. Rick sighs in defeat, shouldering his own rifle. He tells Michonne to stay with Glenn and then makes a `lead-the-way`-gesture with his hand to Jay.

 

 


	3. The Bullet

Daryl was locked in the same room he had found Glenn in. He didn`t fail to see the irony in that. His hands where tied tightly behind his back. Unfortunately it was the good kind of knots holding them there, meaning he couldn`t slip them. Dammit. He kept wiggling his fingers to keep the blood circulation going.

Did Merle know he was down here? Maybe he did and just didn`t care. Daryl scoffs angrily at the thought. It wouldn`t really surprise him. Merle always were a piece of shit brother.

At least the others had gotten out, otherwise they would probably be in here with him. The bump on the back of his head - from whatever knocked him out earlier - was throbbing hotly. Jay`s gonna be pissed, he mused to himself. 

 

The lock on the door turns, and a tall man with a bandage over his right eye steps inside the room.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting” he said with fake politeness. Rolling up his fancy shirt sleeves and smirking. Daryl glared daggers at the man.

“If you`re gonna kill me, jus` do it!” he growls at him.

The man frowns, pursing his lips. “Hmm. I will, but not just yet. I want to have a nice long chat with you first” he says, again with that annoying smirk.

“I got nothin` to say to ya” Daryl grumbles defiantly. The man, who Daryl presumes is the Governor, smiles like it`s christmas.

“Oh, but you will. You can trust me on that” he says. And the way he says it sends chills down Daryl`s spine..

 

#

 

“So you`re just gonna barge in there, guns blazing and grab him?” Rick asks as he tries to keep up with Jay who`s moving at a pace he previously believed only olympic champions could be capable of sustaining.

“Yup!” she says sharply as she ducks under a lowhanging branch, not slowing down for a second. Maggie is panting heavily as she trails behind the two.

“That`s not exactly a plan, Jay..” he says, exasperated, and she scoffs.

“Look, there`s no time for elaborate plans! They won`t be interested in keeping him alive. He`s too much of a threat for that, we proved as much earlier. They`ll try to beat information out of him and when that doesn`t work, they`ll kill him..” she says gruffly and swallows around the lump in her throat, trying to ignore the pure terror that`s burning heavy in her chest.

Her head playing a constant mantra of ` _Please be alive, please be alive_ `..

 

#

The water was fucking _freezing_. Like Daryl literally had cuts on his face from pieces of ice in the water. They pulled him out and he coughed and gasped. Dragging in desperate gulps of air. He was on his knees in front of an old bathtub filled with water and ice. The rough concrete floor digging patterns into his knees. His arms were still tied behind his back. These three guys had been dunking his head in it, keeping him under until he almost passed out and then yanking him out again. They kept asking him the same damn questions.

`Who is your leader?`

`How many are there in your group?`

`How many weapons does your group have?`

He said the same thing this time as he had all the other times;

“Fuck you!”, and then he was under again..

 

#

 

Jay watched the two men on the wall with predatory eyes. Everytime they looked the other way, she`d move closer. Like some prowling panther.

Rick would have been fascinated by this behaviour if it was under different circumstances. As it were, he was worried about her.

He had seen the same look on her the day the walkers got loose inside the prison. Like someone just flipped a switch and she went all terminator on everything that was a threat. It`s not necessarily a bad thing, but he couldn`t help but wonder; what happens if one day the switch can`t be turned off again..

She draws a blade from her boot, throws it and it hits home. One down, one to go.

The other guard turns at the sound of the first one falling, just in time to catch the second blade right between his ribs.

Jay doesn`t waste any time, just moves through the gap in the gate and heads straight for the holding rooms..

 

#

 

The Governor drags Daryl into a bigger room, he knows it`s bigger because of the slight echo he hears bouncing of the walls. He has a black hood over his head. He suspects it`s for `dramatic effect` or some bullshit like that..

“What the Hell`s this?” he hears a familiar voice ask. ..Merle..?

“This, my friend, is why I don`t trust you anymore..” the Governor says.

“Because how can I? When one of the attackers from tonight is your own brother?!” he sneers and rips the hood off of Daryl`s head.

He squints against the light, then finds himself looking right into Merle`s shocked eyes, which makes him take a step back. Bumping into the Governor who just shoves him forward again.

 

#

 

Jay corners one of the Governor`s goons in the hallway and slams him against the wall, knife to his throat.

“Where is the man you captured tonight??” she growls darkly.

The smaller man trembles pathetically, nearly peeing his pants at the furious look in this woman`s eyes.

“B-Boss wanted him in the meetingroom.. D-down the hall, t-to the left..” he stuttered. She smiled coldly.

“Thank you” and then she stabbed him in the throat.

 

#

“On your knees! Both of you!” the Governor yelled, and the brothers complied reluctantly. They looked at each other, knowing they were going to die.

“It`s time to put an end to the Dixon line.. Starting with the youngest” he says, pointing his gun straight at Daryl`s head.

Daryl closed his eyes, waiting..

“NOO!!” he hears an impossible voice scream. Then a shot echoes through the room.

His eyes snaps open and he sees the Governor fall, a knife protruding from his chest as he chokes on his own blood.

Daryl looks to the door, where Jay is standing, his Jay. It was her knife that saved him.

But something`s wrong. She`s not running to him and kissing him. She`s just standing there. Why?

Then she looks down and he follows her gaze.. There`s a red patch on her belly, growing steadily in size as the blood soaks through her shirt.

She touches it and looks at the blood now painting her fingers in some sort of disbelief, then she falls.. Daryl screams..

 

#

 

Time stops as she hits the ground. There`s no pain, no sound. Just her heart beating in her ears. She closes her eyes and is instantly transported to a different time in her life...

 

_She`s sitting in a class room, drawing random doodles in her notebook as she listens to Dr Brighton talk, and talk, and.... God that man really likes the sound of his own voice, huh?, she thinks.. “..So say that somebody shoots you in the abdomen. What`s the first thing that`s going to kill you?” he asks the class. She raises her hand. “Jay?” he picks her. “Bloodloss and/or hypovolemic shock” she says in almost a bored tone. She hasn`t been getting much sleep lately because of the upcoming exams, and then Doctor Asshole comes in and talks about basic stuff that they have already been over a thousand times..Ugh.. He smiles. “Very good, Jay! So what`s your first move?” he asks her and she has to fight not to roll her eyes. Because, seriously? “Control the bleeding” she replies, returning her attention to her doodling. Then suddenly she`s on the floor and Dr Brighton is hovering above her, shaking her shoulders desperately. “Jay! Don`t ya fuckin` quit on me girl!” he yells and she frowns. What? Then the scenery changes.._

#

It`s not Dr Brighton, it`s Daryl, she can see him now. And with that all her senses come back online again at the same time and she cries out from the searing pain in her side. Daryl is holding his hands over the wound, pushing down, trying to slow the bleeding. There are tears rolling down his face. What happened?

 _Oh, right, I got shot.._ There`s something warm and wet coming out from her back, huh.. _Guess the bullet passed right through me then_..

“..mph...F-fuckin` hurts..” she grits out through her clenched teeth.

“I know, just hang in there, okay?” she hears Rick say, she turns her head to the right, oh, there he is.. He looks worried.. That`s sweet of him, she thinks. Someone`s stroking her hair too, so she turns her head upwards a little and sees Maggie. She`s crying.

 _Think! You gotta snap out of it!_ She scolds herself internally.

“..Burn..me..” she croaks, and Daryl exchanges a look with Rick then looks back at her. “What`s that, Sweetheart?” he asks hoarsely, and she blinks to refocus. “..Cau...terize.. the wound.. Stop.. the bleed..ing..” she manages with tremendious effort, and watches the realization on Daryl`s face.

“She`s right..-” she hears Maggie say, and then she tunes out the rest, only focusing on Daryl.

She brings her trembling hand to his on top of her wound, and squeezes it weakly. He swallows thickly then, fresh tears falling, his eyes never leaving hers.

She tries to smile for him.

“Sh-Should..have..s-stayed..in bed..” she muses in hitched breaths. And he sobs or laughs, maybe both, he`s a mess..

“Yeah.. Maybe next time you`ll listen, huh?” he whispers and she nods, or tries to at least.

She hears a strange hissing sound and looks around until she finds the source. Which is Merle with a.. Blowtorch? And he`s using it on what looks like an iron rod that Maggie`s holding. _Oh_.. Shit.. Rick waves something in front of her face and she looks at him. It`s a belt, _oh right_. She opens her mouth and he place the belt between her lips, she bites down, eyes widening in fear of what`s coming next. Merle looks at her with hesitation and sympathy, which must be a first.

“`m sorry `bout this, Sugar” he says, and for once he sounds like he means it. There are hands all over her, holding her down. And then the pain hits her..

 

Pain doesn`t really cover it.. In fact, Jay doesn`t think there`s a single word in all of the English language - or _any_ language - that could possible describe the sheer _agony_ that courses through her body as white hot iron meets torn flesh.. It`s like her entire being is on fire. Every muscle in her body seizing up in a futile attempt to get away from the unbearable pain, as it shoots through every thread of nerves, filling her blood with burning acid.

 _Oh God, please.... No more... Make it stop!  Oh God, please! Make it stop!_  

Then the world turns black..

 

#

 

Her screams.. They didn`t even sound human.. More like an animal being tortured to the point of insanity..

The sound and smell of burning human flesh.. _Jay`s_ flesh..

It`s something that will haunt Daryl`s memories for the rest of his life.. He has never heard anyone scream like that..

The shock and the horror freezes him to the spot, and Rick literally has to slap him, to get him back to reality.

“Come on! We gotta move!” he orders, lifting Jay`s limp body up into his arms and rushing out the door. Daryl hurries after them, his feet unsteadily carrying him.

Merle trailing behind him looking strangely pale..

 

 


	4. I can`t lose you

Jay`s groggy mind was slowly processing the conversations going on around her, which consisted of a lot of what-the-fucks apparently.. Like; “What the fuck happened to her??” and “What the fuck is _he_ doing here??”, she assumed that the second one was about Merle. Then there was the unsurprising; “What the fuck were you thinking??” and the all important; “What the fuck are we gonna do??”. She was kind of relieved to be only semi-conscious for this part. But then Merle started running his mouth as usual and everything escalated, so she figured this would be a good time to wake up. She opened her eyes, it took a few tries but she got it done, then looked at the scene before her with narrowed eyes. They were all up in each others face, huffin` and puffin`.

“..Not to be a total bitch, but would you all just shut the fuck up so we can go home..?” Jay says hoarsely, but pointedly, finding it much easier to talk now that she wasn`t hyperventilating from shock, _go figure_.. It did the trick though, everybody stopped talking and just stared at her with wide eyes.

Jay was lying on the grass, propped up with jackets and one or two backpacks. Daryl kneeled beside her, taking her hand and squeezing it tightly. He looked so relieved and happy that she was awake, that she felt bad for him. She would have been going out of her mind if their roles had been reversed. “Hey..” she whispers and he smiles. “Hey yourself” he replies, stealing her line. She weakly returns his smile. “How ya feelin`?” he asks, his eyes flicking nervously between hers. “Like I got shot..” she quips tiredly just as Glenn walks forward to hand a water bottle to Daryl. He uncorks it and brings it up to her lips, she swallows greedily, a bit spilling onto her shirt in the process. “Thanks..” she says gratefully, then turns her attention to the rest of the group.

“How far from the prison?” she asks, feeling her eyelids droop a little, but she forces them to stay open for now. “Two hours maybe” Rick replies as he takes a knee in front of her, she nods. “ I need to get to Hershel as soon as possible..” she says and he hums in agreement, but Daryl frowns in concern so she adds; “The burns bought me some time, but there`s still a ways to go before I`m out of the woods..”. He nods, starting to chew on his thumbnail, which makes her smile a little. That smile quickly drops as she hear Glenn and Merle going at it again. “For fuck`s sake people, we have bigger problems! Merle`s coming and that`s final!” she barks, sending her into a bit of a coughing fit while clutching her injured side. That seems to end the discussion, for now at least. Daryl picks her up gently and carries her to the car up the road. Merle looks like he`s been stunned into silence by her outburst, which is also a first. It`s the day for that apparently..

 

#

 

The group doesn`t get any sleep that night. Jay`s screams as Hershel re-opens her wound, to clean it out properly and check for internal bleeding, echoes through the cellblock, making everyone cringe in sympathy. They`ve all gathered together in the main area, sitting in silence, waiting. Daryl is sitting on the stairs just below the cell they`re using as an operating room. He`s been in and out of there for the last three hours, never able to stay long before Maggie or Hershel forces him outside again. Jay`s in so much pain in there and he has never felt so useless before in all his life. He can`t do _anything_ for her, he`s not a doctor..

Meanwhile, Merle just sort of stands awkwardly to the side, not knowing what to do. His little brother has changed so much since the last time he saw him. Gone _native_ on him. And obviously he`s been hooking up with Jay Larson, and while it was a huge surprise that she was alive, it wasn`t all that surprising to him that she was with Daryl. He`d always seen the way those two looked at each other back then, all heart-eyes and shit. But of course it took the damn end of the world for either of them to grow the balls to actually _do_ something about it. Now, looking at his little brother, seeing him so worried and broken.. He`d do anything make it alright again..

#

 

Daryl was leaning his head against the railing on the stairs, half asleep from sheer exhaustion, when Maggie shook his shoulder gently. He was wide awake then. “You can come in now” she whispers, so not to disturb any of the others. She barely gets the sentence out before he`s up and moving towards his girl. But Hershel stops him in the doorway, with a raised hand. “Be careful not to wake her, she needs every ounce of rest she can get” he urges quietly and Daryl nods. “But she`ll be alright? Right?” he asks hesitantly and feels his stomach drop at the pinched expression on Hershel`s face. “She lost a lot of blood, Daryl.. Almost half of her supply of it actually. At this point, it could go either way..” he says somberly, making Daryl swallow hard. Hershel sighs in sympathy. “Just be there for her, son. Her love for you just might be enough to make her stay with us” he tells him gently, patting his shoulder before leaving the two alone.

 _She`s so pale_ , he thinks as he sits quietly beside her. His eyes are burning and his throat closes up as he lays his hand on top of hers, carefully rubbing her skin with his thumb. She looks _smaller_ somehow.. _Fragile_.. He absently wipes a tear away with the back of his hand. This was his fault.. That bullet had been meant for him. If he hadn`t gotten himself captured this never would have happened..

 

#

 

Jay had slept for 18 hours straight so far. Daryl never left her side. Merle sat on the floor just outside of the cell, feeling about as useful as a third nipple.. Most of the group avoided Merle, which he was thankful for. He knew what they thought of him, and they were probably right too. Hell, if it wasn`t for Daryl and his girl, Merle reckoned he`d have a bullet in his head by now.. He owed them, both of them..

Merle had done a lot of terrible things in his life. Most of it he`d done to survive, to make money or just to get ahead. It wasn`t an excuse, it`s just the way it was. He`d seen the way people looked at him and Daryl. `A menace to society.` Degenerates. _Trash_.

But Jay Larson had never looked at them like that. Sure she rolled her eyes at him a lot and occationally she`d yell at him for getting Daryl into trouble, but she put up with his shit when nobody else did. She`d patch him up after barfights or deals gone bad, while cursing his ass out for his own stupidity. Then she`d offer him a drink and listen to him talk, offer advice if she had any. Jay was probably the only woman still alive that he respected. She was tough, capable and smart. And she loved his little brother more than anything. She`d even taken a damn bullet for him. That made her as good as family in his book..

 

#

 

Daryl was starting to lose hope.. Shouldn`t she have woken up by now? Hershel had been in a few times, checking up on her, and Daryl didn`t like the grim look the old man had on his face.. Like he was losing hope too. He had told Daryl to talk to her, said that it might help. And so he had.. He told her about the time Merle had put mushrooms in his food and he`d spent over an hour shooting at imaginary rabbits.

He told her about this old indian who used to live next to them when he was a kid, said she would have liked him, because he was smart like her. And he told her about his uncle`s hunting cabin, how he loved it there, and how he had gotten the biggest fish he`d ever seen up by the lake near it. But she didn`t stir..

What if she never wakes up? He squeezed her hand, needing her to come back to him. It couldn`t end like this.. He`d only just found her again, she was finally his after loving her in silence for nearly a decade.

“Ya gotta wake up, Jay.. `cuz I can`t.. I can`t lose ya..” he tells her quietly, brokenly. And maybe it was the way his voice sounded, or maybe it was the death grip he had on her hand, but suddenly he felt her thumb move weakly against his hand, comforting him. He thinks his heart stopped beating for a second as he looked up and saw her eyes slowly open. “Jay?” he breathed hopefully and her weary eyes found his. She didn`t say anything, she didn`t have the energy to yet, but the corner of her lips twitched and he smiled. “Hershel!” he shouted excitedly over his shoulder.

The sound of boots hitting concrete in a hurry came as a prelude before the old man appeared. A look of surprise and relief filling his features as he sees Jay with her eyes open, gazing up at him. He pushes Daryl gently aside, ignoring his grumbling at the action and checks her vitals, and after a few moments he actually starts chuckling. “You sure are a stubborn little thing, aren`t you?” he says fondly, stroking her cheek once and she smiles weakly, her blue-green eyes twinkling even in their half-open state.

They manage to get some water and a few bites of food into her before she falls asleep again. Hershel assures Daryl that _this time_ , it`s a good thing. That her body heals better when she`s resting, so she`ll be sleeping a lot at first. Rick comes by briefly just to deliver an extra matress, so that Daryl can get some sleep too, since they all know that he won`t leave her side as long as she`s like this. Vulnerable, helpless. He hates seeing her like that. Especially when he knows that it`s all his fault..

 

#

 

The nights are so quiet in here. Peaceful. It`s easy to forget that it`s the apocalypse on nights like these. Jay wakes up to it, listening to the soft sounds of rain outside. It`s soothing. There`s a bit of movement on the floor beside her and she squints in the dark to see what it is, smiling a little when she realises that it`s Daryl. They must have brought another matress in here while she was sleeping. He`s awake though, keeps shifting restlessly. He shifts again, his clothes rustling as he does, breaking the silence and she sighs. “Got bugs in your clothes or something?” she muses hoarsely and watches the man freeze for a moment before he huffs a little. He sits up and rubs his neck. “Did I wake ya?” he whispers. “Nah, the rain did” she breathes sleepily, he hums a reply. She can`t really see his eyes in the darkness of the cell, but she can feel him staring at her. “How`s the pain? Ya need anything?” he asks, the worry bleeding through in his voice. “`s not too bad” she mumbles. Her side aches and throbs, but it`s far past the worst of it she thinks.

“Come here” she says and he hesitates, but eventually moves to sit on the edge of her bed. She can hear him swallow thickly. She finds his hand and yanks at him, ignoring the pull of her stitches as she does. He lies down on his side gingerly, facing her, carefully avoiding touching her too much and she rolls her eyes internally. “I`m not damn a china-doll, you can touch me” she says tiredly. Again he hesitates, but then he very gently places his hand on her hip and nuzzles his face into the crook of her neck, breathing her in. She almost laughs, probably would have if she had the strength to. This man who could be so rough and even brutal at times, but with her he was as soft and gentle as a kitten. It made her heart swell with the sweetness of it all.

“Thought I lost ya..” he whispers against her skin, she turns her head slowly and kisses the top of his brow. “Nah.. It`s gonna take a hell of a lot more to make me leave you..” she whispers back and feels his grip on her hip tighten, like he`s making sure she`s really there. She wonders what`s going on in his head right now, though she doesn`t have to wonder for long.

“`s my fault..” he says so quietly that she almost didn`t hear him, but she does and she nudges him with her shoulder. “Don`t be stupid.. You didn`t shoot me, he did. It`s not your fault. Now shut up and go to sleep” she mutters a little angrily. He nuzzles her again. His scruff tickles her neck. “I love you..” she whispers after a few moments of quiet and she feels him smile just a little. “..luv ya too..” she hears him whisper back, hiding his face in her hair. She smiles.

 

 


	5. Adjustment

In the week that followed the whole group was on edge. They feared retalliation from the people of Woodbury, but so far it had been quiet. Nobody knew what had happened to Andrea, there had been no sign of her since it all went down. Michonne had been out looking for her, since she wasn`t in Woodbury as far as anyone could tell. Jay had never met the woman, so she didn`t know much about her, except that apparently she had _shot_ Daryl at some point. That alone made Jay dislike the blonde. But she did hope that Michonne found her, because they had all lost too many people, and she liked Michonne. So Jay would be happy for her if she found her friend.

Merle had amazingly enough stayed out of trouble. Well. For the most part, anyway. There had been a few heated arguments between him and certain members of the group, and apparently he`d stolen a gun or something, but that was sort of to be expected. At this moment in time he had taken over “Jay-duty” for Daryl, after Jay had banned him from the cell until he had taken a damn shower. Something that had made Merle laugh and when Daryl grumpily complied, Merle had stated that his little brother was “pussy-whipped”. Then Jay had stared him down until the man swallowed and sat down, which made Daryl snicker and mumble something about how it looked like he wasn`t the only one.

Jay pulled the blanket off of herself, and stubbornly swung her legs over the edge of the bed, sitting up with the wince of the century. Merle got up with an almost comical expression on his face. “What are ya doin`? Lay back down, woman!” he urged and Jay scoffed at him, her eyes filled with fierce determination. “I have been lying on my back for a damn _week_ , Merle. I`ve had people clean me, feed me, clothe me and lift me onto a fucking bucket so I could relieve myself. So today I am getting out of this fucking bed, so help me God!” she growls and he raises both eyebrows before shaking his head and chuckling. “Alright, Sugar. But ya better lean on me, `cuz my brother will _kill_ me if somethin` else happens to ya, especially on _my_ watch” he says with a pointed and amused look. She smiles and lets him help her up and about.

 

#

 

Carol`s the first one to spot them, coming down the stairs, slowly. She smiles brightly and turns to Rick and Carl, who`s eating breakfast at the table. “Rick. Carl. Look!” she says excitedly. Jay is panting slightly by the last step, but she`s smiling, and Merle is holding her up anyway, so she`s good. “Hey guys” she says to the happy faces that greets her. Carol hugs her, wiping a few tears away when she pulls back. Carl hugs her too, blushing a little. Rick smiles from ear to ear. “It`s damn good to see you walking again, Jay” Rick says and kisses her cheek. Jay smiles.”Thanks. I thought I`d go crazy if I had to just lay around for another day” she admits and they all chuckle at that. Hershel`s voice sounds through the cellblock as he comes in from tending the crops. “They say that doctors make the worst patients. I see that it extends to nurses as well, since you should be resting..” he muses fondly as he walks over. “Daryl`s gonna have a fit when he sees this” Carl says wryly and Jay laughs. Merle hums in a `What-he-said` sort of way, and makes Jay sit down in a chair. “When he sees what?” a gruff voice says from behind them and they all share a look. Busted..

“Ya was supposed to look after her, not take her for a damn stroll!” Daryl barks at his brother, immidiately fussing over Jay and making her roll her eyes in exasperation. “Wha`d ya want me to do, huh? Keep her in bed at gunpoint??” Merle quips, crossing his arms over his chest. “If that`s what it takes, then hell yeah!” he shouts and Merle makes a face. “Daryl, calm down” Jay tries gently, but gets only a glare for her effort. “I am calm!” he snaps and she raises an eyebrow at him. He suddenly seems to notice that they have an audience. Carol is covering her mouth with her hand, Rick and Carl are looking at their shoes, faces all red, they`re all trying so hard not to laugh, except for Hershel who makes no attempt to hide his amusement.

Daryl`s cheeks turn a light shade of pink and he ducks his head. “Babe, I`m fine, really. Don`t be mad at Merle. He knew he couldn`t stop me, so he helped me get down here in one piece instead” she tells him patiently, and though he grumbles a little under his breath, he sits down beside her and eventually calms down. Jay pats the seat on her other side, looking at Merle and he shrugs and sits too. Rick looks kind of impressed, he leans in to whisper to Carol; “How the hell did she get both Dixon`s on a leash?” he asks and Carol snorts. “I have no idea, but I will say this; she has got to be the most patient woman in the world..” she muses and Rick bites his fist so he won`t start laughing.

 

#

 

Jay kept an eye on Merle, tried to keep him close, because he seemed to cause less trouble then. But she knew that something had to be done eventually. He had to make things right with Glenn and Maggie, and with Michonne. Otherwise it would tear the group apart. She asked him to sit with her when she had gotten back into bed, and she could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew what she wanted to talk to him about.

“What happened out there, Merle? Why did you take Maggie and Glenn?” she asked carefully. He shrugged. “Don`t you shrug at me, Merle Dixon. Just answer the question” she says firmly. He sighs, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “Ya know what I did. Does it matter why?” he asks. She recognises that defensive strategy, she sees it often enough in Daryl, so it doesn`t deter her. “It matters to me” she replies and he looks at her, long and hard. “Maybe I was jus` bored.. Maybe I was mad `bout losin` my hand and wanted some payback..” he starts and Jay stares him down, unimpressed. He softens just a little.

“Or maybe I figured the governor wouldn`t kill me for losin` that black bitch if I had somethin` else for him.. and they knew where my brother was.. I could kill two birds with one stone..” he tells her and she nods slowly, that made more sense. Well, Merle-sense anyway. “And Michonne? Just following orders? Since when do you follow orders anyhow?” she asks curiously, watching him shift uncomfortably on the chair. “Look.. I don`t know why I do some of the things I do.. I`m a damn mystery to myself.. But I ain`t gonna cause any problems for ya and Daryl, I can promise ya that” he says and she can tell that he means it, so she nods.

“As glad as I am to hear that, you still have to make things right with Glenn. Maggie will follow his lead. And Michonne.. Well, she`ll come around... _Eventually_..” Jay says with a heavy sigh and they share a long look, before bursting out into laughter. She holds onto to her side for dear life so she doesn`t tear her stitches. “Eventually!” He laughs, wiping his eyes from tears of mirth, which makes her laugh even more. Daryl pokes his head in, raises his eyebrows, shakes his head and leaves again.

 

 


	6. The thing about the Dixon`s

Rick, Glenn and Hershel were having an argument in the hallway when Jay made her way towards the shower room with Merle`s help. She instantly wished that she had chosen a different time to get cleaned up, she felt Merle stiffen beside her as his name was mentioned. “How can you let him stay here after what he did to me? To Maggie? He`s a monster!” Glenn growled lowly, Rick tried to calm him down, but so far no luck. Then Hershel surprised them by saying; “Merle has military experience. He may be erratic, but don`t underestimate his loyalty to his brother. And from what I`ve seen, he`s loyal to Jay as well. If you force him out, I believe they will go with him..”.

“You`re right” Jay says as she turns the corner, startling the three men. “We would go with him” she continues, and Merle looks at her with surprise. Glenn stares at her with his mouth slightly open. “I know what he did was horrible. I was angry as hell too at first. But we`ve all done some pretty terrible things since this all went down. And we all pay for it, every day, every night. If it`ll make it easier for the group, we can leave, until then, I`m having a damn shower” she says and leans on Merle as he helps her past them, keeping his head down for once. Leaving the trio standing there in stunned silence.

“Ya didn`t have to do that..” he says as they get out of earshot. “I didn`t say anything I didn`t mean, Merle. Just don`t screw this up again, alright?” she replies as they reach the doors. “I`ll try..” he says quietly and she smiles, knowing that`s the most she can ask for. When she opens the door he smirks a little. “Ya need help in there too?” he asks wryly and she swats at him with the towel she had draped over her shoulder. “When Hell freezes over, and not a moment sooner!” she quips back and he chuckles.

 

#

 

Merle sat outside the shower-room, smoking a cigarette and staring at the ceiling, while Daryl was fuming as he marched towards him. “Where is she?!” he barks and Merle raises his eyebrows, pointing a thumb over his shoulder towards the showers. “She`s washin` up. I offered to do her back, but she impolitely declined, go figure” he quipped and watched with great amusement as Daryl nearly lost his temper, clenched fist held high before he seems to think better of it and just barges inside to find Jay.

“Jay?!” he shouts as he enters and Jay jumps, wincing in pain right after, grabbing her side. “Shit Daryl, you scared me!” she curses as she turns off the water and wraps her towel around her waist and chest. She runs her fingers through her wet hair to get it out of her face, then looks up and sees Daryl staring at her, licking his lips absently. She smirks at the heat in his eyes. “See something you like?” she teases him and he ducks his head, blushing profusely. She chuckles, she`s not exactly up for _that_ much activity yet, but it`s always nice to be wanted. “I was jus` worried. Ya weren`t in bed..” he mumbles awkwardly, shifting his feet, not knowing where to look all of a sudden. Her eyes softens at that. She knows he`s been worried sick about her ever since she got shot, and there hasn`t been room for much else. And then what little energy she`s had she`s spent on Merle, to keep him on the right side of the fence.

“Come here” she says and he hesitates a little, but moves to stand in front of her, as if waiting for further instructions. She closes the gap and kisses him sweetly. He sighs against her lips, eagerly seeking more. His right hand craddling her neck lovingly. When she pulls back for air briefly, he almost whines until her lips are back on his.. He needs this she realises, needs to feel her with him. She can give him that, she thinks and snakes her hand downwards..

He jumps at the contact, eyes wide and huge. “W-We can`t!” he starts and she hushes him with another kiss. “ I can`t fuck you yet, but I can do this..” she whispers, rubbing his quickly hardening cock through his pants. He makes a choked noise and grabs hold of her shoulders. “Ah..Ya sure?” he groans and she just smiles, opening his belt and unzipping his pants. “Oh I`m sure” she drawls, licking her palm before taking his length into her hand, pumping him steadily. He gasps and surrenders to her touch.

 “Oh shit..” he pants out, she`s rubbing all the right places and he can`t stop himself from thrusting into her hand. “Just let me take care of you..” she whispers in his ear, feeling him shiver in respons. She runs her thumb over the head, gathering up the pre-come and spreading it around in circles. He hisses, gritting his teeth to keep quiet. His legs are starting tremble beneath him and he`s gonna come so fast that it`s embarrassing.. But she hasn`t touched him like this since that first night, and it feels so damn good.

She kisses down his neck and sucks a mark into his collarbone, earning a barely restrained moan from him. His breathing is getting quicker and heavier. Jay knows he`s getting close so she tightens her fist, pumps him faster. He practically whimpers then, still holding back, but she`s not having it. She _wants_ him to let go, to lose control for her, so she brings her other hand into play, massaging his balls and then bites down on his neck, _hard_. That`s all it takes, and he groans loudly against her hair, his whole body going rigid as he comes in steady bursts all over her hand and on the front of her towel. She smiles. _Good boy_ , she thinks and kisses him again.

#

“Have a nice shower?” Merle teases as the couple emerges from the shower-room. Jay chuckles as she realises that he must have heard it, while Daryl turns bright red. “Shut up” he mutters and hurries past his brother, dragging a giggling Jay along with him. Merle throws his head back and laughs.

 

##

 

Jay was lying in bed reading a book that Hershel gave her when Rick knocked on the bars, asking if they could talk. She looked up and smiled a little timidly, remembering the last encounter they had, but gestures for him to come in. He takes a seat on the chair beside the bed. He looks tired, she notices as she marks the page she`s at and puts her book away. She doesn`t envy him, being a leader, being responsible for the lifes of others, it can`t be easy. “We`ve taken a vote, so to speak. And it`s been decided that Merle can stay, as long as he doesn`t cause anymore trouble” he says and she feels a weight lift from her shoulders. “Thank you..” she says, honestly relieved not to have to leave the prison. He nods in reply, but it`s clear that he has more on his mind.

“I was surprised to see you stand up for him. I mean, when you`ve mentioned him before it sounded like you didn`t particularly care for him..” he says carefully and she snorts a short laugh. “Would it be too much of a clichè to say that it`s complicated?” she asks and he smiles. She knows he needs a real answer though, so she sighs and sits up slowly, her face taking on a more serious expression.

“I guess I just know them both in a different way than you do..” she starts and he nods, with her so far. “Where you see violent anger and reckless behaviour, I see buried pain. Where you see crude manners and cold deeds, I see someone who`s never learned a different way. You have to understand, they both grew up with drunks, addicts and criminals. They had to fight to survive from the moment they could walk. Daryl became the timid one, the one who tried real hard not be seen, so he wouldn`t get hurt. And Merle, he became a bully. He made sure that he was feared and hated. For the same reason. So he wouldn`t get hurt. It`s a defense mechanism with them. Hurt others before they can hurt you” she tells him and he listens intently to every word. Rick feels like he`s finally starting to understand both of the brothers..

 

#

 

Jay feels the bed dip in the middle of the night and smiles as Daryl`s arms circle around her, carefully avoiding her stitches. “Go back to sleep” he whispers, nuzzling her neck, he likes doing that apparently, she muses to herself. She hums sleepily in reply and drifts off again a few moments later.

 

#

Daryl is sitting on the bed with a pair of scissors, while Jay is standing in front of him, unwrapping her bandages. His expression is pinched and nervous. “Ya sure ya want _me_ to do this?” he asks for the umpteenth time, making her roll her eyes. “ _Yes!_ ” she replies hissing out the `s`, and he nods, swallowing. The final wrap comes off and he sees the wound for the first time since it happened. He`s been avoiding looking at it, everytime Hershel or Maggie would change the bandages, he would look away. It just broke him to see her being hurt..

 The stitches were lined up in a crescent moon shape, slight burns surrounding it. The skin was raised, pink and a little purple, no bigger than a walnut really. It wasn`t nearly as bad as it had looked the day she got shot. He touches it with a feather light brush of a finger, she let`s him explore for a moment before clearing her throat, pulling him back from his thoughts. “Right.. I`ll jus`.. Um..” he mutters, visibly steeling himself before bringing the scissors up, and ever so carefully he cuts the first stitch. He looks up at her right after, just to make sure she wasn`t hurting or anything. She couldn`t help but smile, amused at his nervousness. He very gently plucked the thread of the first stitch, pulling it free and once again looked at her to make sure it was okay. Seeing her smile and nod encouragingly, he moves on to the next, more confident now.

The exit wound on the back is a bit bigger, more burns than stitches there though. A lot of that same pink, raised skin, with lines of purple around the stitched area. These stitches are lined up more like an `X`, which he huffs quietly at. “X marks the spot..” he mumbles as he starts snipping the thread and she hums questioningly. “Nothin`..” he replies quickly, figuring that she wouldn`t appreciate that particular joke just yet..

 

#

 

After the stitches was out, the bandages came back on, tightly wrapped for extra support. Jay was relieved to not feel the constant pinch and pull of the threads every time she moved. But she still couldn`t throw a knife, which annoyed her to no end, and amused Daryl when she cursed at whatever poor inanimate object she had chosen for target practice that day. That day it was a tree-stump. She missed it by several inches and cursed loudly, holding her side with a wince. “Ya know, I could teach ya how to use a crossbow..” he suggested, then ducked his head at the glare she sent his way. “Do I look like fucking Robin Hood to you?! Shut up and hand me another knife!” she barks at him, making him snicker before handing her another one. She`s kinda _cute_ when she`s angry, he thinks, though he knows better than to tell _her_ that..

Merle watched them as he was helping Rick and Hershel re-enforce the fence on the east side. “She sure is a tough lil` lady, ain`t she?.. Barely eleven days gone by since the gov` put a hole in her, and already she`s outside playin` with knives again..” he muses out loud. Rick wiped the sweat of his brow and looked over too, just in time to see Daryl literally sweep her off of her feet and carry her bridal-style towards the prison while she cursed and swatted at him. “Guess playtime`s over” he jokes and Merle chuckles.

No matter how stubborn the woman was, she was still healing and tired very easily. But the trouble with being stubborn is that she`d never admit to something like being exhausted after just half an hour of target practice, so Daryl took matters into his own hands. “Put me down, Dixon! I can walk just _fine_ on my own..” she growls at him, but he just smirks. “I know, jus` figured it`d be easier than tryin` to convince ya to take a break” he quips and she gapes at him, though her eyes are smiling.

 


	7. Tracks

The next morning Jay wakes up to an empty bed, which wasn`t exactly unusual. Daryl was almost always up at dawn, walking the perimeter and checking his traps for any game that might have gotten caught over night. What was unusual however, was that he wasn`t there for breakfast either. She asked Merle if he`d seen him but he just shrugged, he didn`t seem too concerned though.

Making her way to the common area by herself was a slow process, she was still moving at the speed of a running turtle, but at least she was moving. She regretted all the knife-throwing she had done yesterday, for her side was aching something fierce today. Rick was sitting at the table, staring at his cup like it held all the answers to the universe. He was often lost in thought these days. Part of the grieving process she figured. He looks up when she comes closer. “Any word from Michonne?” she asks as she slowly lowers herself into the chair beside him. “No, I haven`t seen her in three days” he says, frowning slightly. His index finger tapping against the side of his cup.

“What about Daryl? Have you seen him today?” she asks next and he gives her a wry smile. “Not for a couple of hours.. Missing him already, huh?” he muses and grins at the faint blush that colors her cheeks. “We spent the better part of a decade just pining for each other. I think we`ve earned the right to be a little cheesy” she says lightly and he chuckles. “No arguments here” he replies.

 

#

 

When Daryl walks in and sees Jay and Rick laughing together, he feels that old jealousy rear it`s ugly head. But then Jay spots him, and the way her whole face lights up at the sight of him, chases away every jealous thought Daryl ever had about her and their leader. And he remembers..

“ _I love you.. I always have..” she says shakily. His lower lip trembles slightly, but his eyes are still expecting pain. “Why?” he grits out, definitely strained now. She gives him a pained smile. “Because you throw squirrels and bedpans at people when you`re angry” she says, a small laugh full of tears escaping her. “Because you bite your nails when you`re nervous.. Because you use a crossbow to avoid making too much noise and still drive a really loud motorcycle..” she continues and the corners of his mouth are starting to twitch into a smile now. “Because you`ll name a baby Lil` Asskicker..” she chuckles and wipes her eyes. “But mostly because despite everything you`ve been through; you`re a good, brave, strong, wonderful man and you have no idea how amazing you are..” she finishes just as he leans in and kisses her deeply._

“Hey handsome” she cooes as she slips her hands around his waist. He blushes, but dips his head to steal his first kiss of the day. She hums in approval. “Hi..” he breathes back, a little shyly since he knows Rick is watching them. “You`ve been gone all morning” she pouts and he catches that pouting lip between his teeth in a small nip and smiles. “Ya miss me?” he teases. “Always” she replies, taking one last kiss before pulling away. There`s something in his eyes that makes her lead him back to her cell. She sits down on the bed and watches him as he puts away his crossbow and joins her.

“Penny for your thoughts?” she asks and he huffs. “Ya ain`t got one” he says and she rolls her eyes at him. “Tell me anyway?” she prompts. He hesitates, but eventually he nods. “I saw somethin` in the woods, when I was checkin` the traps..” he starts quietly and she frowns, crossing her legs beneath her. “What did you see?” she asks curiously. He grimaces, like he really doesn`t want to say, but does anyway. “Tracks.. Heavy boots. Two men” he says, and she feels a chill go down her spine.

“Walkers?” she asks, even though she knows he wouldn`t have mentioned it if it was just that. He shakes his head. “Nah.. Too organised. I followed them” he tells her while picking at some invisible lint on the sheets. “Where did they go?” she asks, dreading the answer, but needing to hear it all the same. “Here. Stoppin` at the tree line” he says and looks up through his lashes. He`s worried, she realises. “They were watching us?” she says, more a statement than a question. She swallows. He hums. “That`s what it looked like..” he replies and they share a look.. “You have to tell Rick” she says and he nods, grim expression on his face.

#

 

Daryl spoke with Rick, Merle and Hershel about what he had seen. They all shared worried looks when he was finished. “Woodbury?” Rick wonders, they had all been afraid of retalliation, so it was a fair question. “I doubt it. That place fell to pieces when the Governor bit it” Merle says, leaning his back against the wall, thinking.

“Could just be passing through” Hershel suggests, always hoping for the best. “Could be” Daryl says quietly, though he doesn`t think they`re that lucky. He had found six cigarette butts at the same spot along the tree line, so whoever it was had stood there watching them for a while.. “We should double the watch, better safe than sorry” Rick says eventually. “Yeah, that`s probably a good idea” Merle agrees out loud when the others just nods.

“Will Jay be up for a fight if there`s trouble?” Rick asks Daryl, he`s going to need every fighter he`s got if it`s another group wanting to take over and Jay is one of the best. Daryl hesitates, he doesn`t want to risk her if it can be avoided. “Dunno.. Maybe. She`s hurtin`, even though she won`t own up to it. Her aim`s off, but in close quarters she can still kick some ass if she needs to..” he says honestly and Rick nods slowly in thought. “Alright.. Well, like Hershel said, it could just be someone passing through. No need to fret just yet. We`ll keep our eyes open and weapons handy. That`s all we can do for now” he says and Daryl just hums in agreement before turning around, walking back to Jay`s place, needing to stay close to her. Just in case..

 

#

 

Jay is sitting up on her bed with her back against the wall, socked feet crossed in front of her, one toe tapping to a tune she`s been humming inside her head. She has finished reading another chapter in her book by the time Daryl comes back from talking with the guys. Well, all the guys except Glenn and Carl. Glenn can`t stand to be in the same room as Merle and Carl`s too young still. He hovers by the door for a moment and she looks up, raising an eyebrow at him. He looks troubled as he kicks off his boots and crawls into bed, laying his head in her lap.

She puts away her book and combs her fingers through his messy hair. “That worried, huh?” she asks quietly. He hums an `uh-huh` in respons and she sighs. “Well.. You better get me a gun, then” she says casually and he turns over on his back to look up at her, surprise painted on his face. She smiles a little at his expression. “We both know I can`t throw for shit right now.. But I can point and shoot” she says and he nods after a while. “I`ll get ya one” he says and she copies him by humming an `uh-huh`, making him snort at the immitation.

They`re quiet for a while. He hold her left hand over his heart, rubbing it absently as he thinks. While she keeps playing with his hair with her other hand. There`s some deep worry in his eyes when they find hers again, but she smiles at him. “Don`t worry so much. I`ll protect you” she teases and he scowls at her half heartedly before smiling back, kissing her hand, then laying it back down over his heart.

 

 


	8. I can never get enough

Maggie and Jay kept each other company while Glenn and Daryl was on watch duty. They hadn`t spent much time together after Woodbury, outside of wound-treatment that is. And Jay had thought that Maggie was probably pissed at her for giving Merle a second chance after what he had done. But she wasn`t apparently, which was a relief. So now they were lying on their backs on Maggie`s bed, talking and just enjoying some quality girl-time.

“I`ve been having nightmares.. About Woodbury. Keep waking Glenn up every night” Maggie tells her.

“That`s understandable. Your mind is still processing everything that happened there” Jay says. After what went down at the cabin all those months ago she had nightmares for a long time too, so she gets it.

“How`s Glenn been dealing with it?” she asks carefully and Maggie sighs.

“He`s angry, and sad. I think he blames himself. He feels like he should have been able to protect me or something, and I keep telling him that he can`t protect me from everything” Maggie says tiredly and Jay huffs a little.

“Yeah, that sounds familiar.. Daryl`s just the same. He says it was _his_ fault that I got shot. Doesn`t matter how many times I tell him otherwise, he still feels guilty about it..” she replies and Maggie rolls her eyes.

“Men!” she states and they both laugh.

 

#

 

Michonne returned just before dark and Jay greeted her with a hug, which seemed to surprise the other woman, but she accepted it non the less. Maggie hovers in the background, since she hasn`t had much to do with Michonne yet and therefor doesn`t know her all that well.

“I was worried about you” Jay says as she releases her and Michonne smiles a little. Well, if you can call that small twitch of her lips a smile.

“I`m okay” she says and there`s a sad look in her eyes.

“Did you find anything?” Jay asks and Michonne shakes her head somberly. Jay gently rubs her shoulder in an offer of comfort.

“Well, let`s get you cleaned up and fed, you`re nothing but skin and bones, girl” she says, trying to cheer her up and that earns her an actual smile this time.

 

“What`s with the double watch?” Michonne asks as they eat by the table in the main room. Maggie and Jay exchanges a look at the reminder.

“Daryl found some tracks just outside the perimeter this morning. Looks like we were being watched by a couple of guys wearing heavy boots” Jay explains and Michonne hums in careful thought.

“I see..” she replies quietly.

 

#

 

Daryl looks tired after his watch and it isn`t hard to figure out why, if the tense look that passes between him and Glenn on the way in is anything to go by. Maggie and Jay look at each other with a joint sigh before greeting their men. Daryl perks up when he sees her, she takes his hand with a smile and leads him to her/their cell. As soon as they`re inside she pulls him into a long and heated kiss. She`s missed him, even though it`s only been a handfull of hours. He looks a little dazed at the passion he`s received from her as they part. “What was that for?” he asks breathlessly and she chuckles. “I hope that`s not a complaint?” she teases and he pulls her flush against him. “Hell no!” he states against her lips as he kisses her eagerly, making her giggle at his enthusiasm.

He could never get enough of this. Just kissing her and holding her was amazing to him. But he had to be careful, he didn`t want to hurt her by jostling her to much. She was still healing. Jay rested her cheek against his, running her hands over his back, just wanting to feel as much of him as possible. He`s hard against her hip and she almost whines with want. “I wish I was healed enough already, can`t wait to have you inside me again” she whispers and he lets out a breathy moan at the thought, it makes her smile. He holds her hips steady and thrusts a little against her, just to take some of the pressure off. She loves it when he`s needy like this. 

Jay decides that he deserves a reward and holds onto her injured side as she slides down to her knees, looking up at his wide and suddenly nervous eyes with a cheeky grin. She opens his belt and unzips his pants without breaking eye-contact, while Daryl just seems frozen in place, opening and closing his mouth without any sound coming out. He wants to tell her not to do that, because he feels selfish for getting anything when she can`t.. But _Holy shit_.. How the hell can he say no when he wants her so badly?

Before he`s even _thought_ of something to say she`s already swallowed half of him down and a choked grunt leaves his throat. Having that warm, wet and soft piece of fucking _heaven_ wrapped around his cock is taking away any ability he has to think, much less argue. Her tongue traces every vein and every ridge, like she`s memorising every inch of him, and he loves it.

She slides her hands up to his ass and gently guides him to fuck her mouth, making his thighs momentarily stutter. No one`s ever let him do that before, and he nearly whimpers with pleasure as he starts moving in and out, slowly, sliding over that wicked tongue of hers as she sucks hard every time he pulls back. _Fuckin` Hell.._ He tries to stay quiet, but shaky moans and choked groans keeps escaping him. He threads his rough fingers into her golden brown hair, not pulling or pushing, just touching.

He doesn`t know how long they`ve been going like this when she looks up while moaning around his cock. The vibrations and the heated look in those blue-green eyes doesn`t as much tip him over the edge, as it fucking _pushes_ him over it. He groans and shakes as he comes. She swallows every drop he gives her greedily, milking him with her mouth until he pulls away, becoming way too sensitive. He drops to his knees in front of her then, panting up a storm and leaning his forhead against hers. She smirks. "Feel better?" she teases and he snorts a laugh before kissing her wetly and passionately. He can taste himself on her lips and it pleases some primal part of him.

Looking at her red and lightly swollen lips, her mussed up hair and shiny eyes, he feels like he could burst open with love for her. He needs to tell her that, she should know. “ _Jay_.. I.. I love ya.. Ya know that, right?” he whispers breathlessly and she smiles brightly at him. “I know, but it`s always nice to hear. And I love you too, baby, so much” she whispers back and he feels something soar inside him.

#

Merle had been walking past Jay`s cell when he heard them and started chuckling. “Jesus Christ, lil` brother.. _Again_?” he teases, loudly. Which envokes a combined (and by now reflexive) ; “Shut up, Merle!” from the couple inside.

 

##

 

When Jay woke up the next morning, she felt something tickling her collarbone. She swatted at it sleepily and discovered that whatever it was had hair and was chuckling at her weak attempts at defending herself. She opened her eyes and saw Daryl`s amused expression as she finally realised what was tickling her. Which was mainly his goatee as he placed small kisses along her shoulder and collarbone. It amazed her how much he has changed in the last few weeks. She remembers when he found her in that house, how he tense he had been when she hugged him, it had felt like hugging a statue. He still has his moments of awkwardness and tension, but most of the time, when they were alone like this, he was playful and affectionate. He rubs his scruffy chin against her chest and she squirms under him. “Hey! That tickles!” she laughs and pushes at him half-heartedly. He smiles, making these breathy little chuckling noises that she adored, his eyes alight with mischief.

She brushed his hair out of his face and smiled at him, there was so much love and tenderness in her gaze that he felt the need to duck his head, blushing. He`d never get used to being looked at like that. He laid his head against her heart, listening to the steady beats and closed his eyes. She immidiately started playing with his hair, and though he`d never admit it, he loves it when she does that.

 

#

 

 

Rick had to bite back a laugh when he went to fetch Daryl for morning patrol. Because the usually rough and tough redneck actually _whined_ at having to leave Jay`s bed, burying his head in the crook of her neck with a plea of just five more minutes. The laugh quickly left Rick`s mind when the blanket covering both them fell down slightly and he caught a glimpse of Daryl`s bare back for the first time.. It was littered with thick, long scars, and his eyes widened in shock. Jay saw his horrified expression over Daryl`s shoulder and shook her head with pleading eyes that said; “ _Don`t say anything to him!_ ” and he frowned for a moment before remembering a conversation they once had in the watch tower..

“ _...They never knew love or kindness. Their father was the worst, the things he did to them.. That man was just plain evil..” she says, an old anger flaring up in her eyes for a moment before she pushes it back down. “Was it really that bad?” Rick asks curiously, though he`s not really that surprised after everything he`s heard from the others. “It was bad..” she says with a shudder. Rick frowns. “What did he do?” he asks, but Jay shakes her head seriously. “Not my story to tell” she says pointedly and he nods, he could respect that.._

Rick feels his stomach turn as he puts the pieces together in his mind. He swallows around a sudden lump in his throat and gives Jay a firm nod, showing her that he understands. She nods back gratefully and discretely pulls the blanket back up, kissing his shoulder as a cover. “I`ll have him up in a few minutes, Sheriff. You have my word on that” she says jokingly, more for Daryl`s benefit than anything else as he mutters something incoherently against her neck. Her voice might have sounded amused but her eyes were pained. “Make sure you do that, miss. I`ll be waiting downstairs” he quips back, taking her cue and pulling the sheet back in place across the bars. He closes his eyes and breathes deeply for a moment before walking away. Daryl`s become like a brother to him, and it hurts him to know that he was abused like that, by his own father no less. But it also explains a few things..

 

#

 

Jay tilts Daryl`s head up against her and starts peppering kisses all over his face. He huffs and scrunches up his face in a sort of protest. “Are you awake yet?” she teases and he mumbles something sleepily in reply. “No? Okay then” she says amused and starts all over again, kissing his eyebrows, his nose, his cheeks, his chin, each eye lid and then when she finally reaches his mouth he grabs hold of her face to keep her there. Kissing her good morning with a small chuckle. “Damn girl, are ya tryin` to eat my face off or somethin`?” he jokes and she laughs. “Well, you can hardly blame me for trying? You do look good enough to eat!” she quips back and he snorts. “Ya really are crazy, ya know that?” he says with a blush and shy smile. “Only for you” she replies and she knows it`s cheesy as hell, but she just can`t help it. He doesn`t seem to mind either way. She kisses him again, deeply this time and he hums against her lips.

 

Rick felt a lot better about his friend`s past abuse, the moment he sees Daryl come down the stairs with a happy and almost dazed expression on his face. The man might have been through hell, but he was loved and cherished by a good woman, that sorta thing went a long way in healing a man`s soul.

 

 

 


	9. Guns and arrows

When Jay finally made it downstairs that morning she was expecting a few things. Like having some breakfast, checking on Judith, making conversation and day dreaming about orange juice and omelets. What she wasn`t expecting was to be standing between Merle and Glenn while they pointed guns at each other, but that is where she found herself at that moment..

“Easy guys.. Mind filling me in on what`s going on?” Jay asks carefully, keeping her voice calm and holding her hands up, one palm towards each man. “Stay out of this, Jay!” Glenn growls warningly, not taking his eyes off of Merle. “Can`t do that, Glenn. Not when my friends are looking to kill each other..” she says, still keeping a steady and calm tone, though her heart is racing a million miles per minute. Glenn scoffs in disbelief. “ _Friends_.. How can you call _that_ your friend?!” he demands, a look of disgust on his face. Jay swallows. “You don`t know him like I do..” she says, a little shakily this time. She doesn`t particulary like being this close to a gun, after she got shot only two weeks ago, let alone _two_ guns.. “Oh yeah? And how _do_ you know him, huh? Are you fucking him too? Or is that just his brother?” he spits out harshly and Jay bristles. She hears Merle let out a long whistle at that, like `Oh no you didn`t`..

“I`d watch my mouth if I was you, China boy” Merle drawls dangerously and Glenn sneers at him. “I`m Korean you asshole!” he argues and Jay rolls her eyes, because _seriously_?? “Whatever!” Merle shouts back, apparently having the same thought. “Just get out of the way, Jay!” Glenn warns, his finger tightening on the trigger and she narrows her eyes. “Or what? You gonna shoot me, Glenn?” she asks seriously, tears starting to burn in her eyes. His hands are starting to shake and his lower lip quivers. “He tied me to a chair and _beat_ me.. Then he let a walker into the room.. How can you defend him? What good has he ever done in his entire life?!” Glenn grits out, tears running down his face now. Jay feels one slide down hers as well. “ _Please_..” she pleads with him and he lets out a shaky breath, but doesn`t lower his gun. “Just tell me why? Why do you care what happens to a man like that?” he asks, desperate to understand her actions and she hesitates. Not because she doesn`t have a reason, but because of what the reason _is_..

“Because he saved my life..” she starts, much to Merle`s surprise, and Glenn`s, who`s currently staring at her in stunned silence. She doesn`t notice Daryl and Rick standing frozen in the doorway as she continues. “I was 12 years old when my father died.. My mother followed barely a month later, she just couldn`t live without him.. Billy, my older brother, he was 21 and so he became guardian for both me and our little brother, Eddie, who was just five..” she says, swallowing hard, it`s the first time she`s ever talked about it. “He was supposed to take care of us. But you see, Billy was a drug addict, and so he would _forget_ things. Like _feeding_ us.. Or paying the bills.. We almost lost our house”. Glenn`s eyes fill with sympathy, while Daryl feels his heart ache from where he stands, listening. He never knew about any of this.

“Merle saw me stealing food at the grocery store.. I had to, Eddie was starving and there was no money. Billy would spend everything we had on drugs. The store manager caught me and banned me from the place. Said he`d call the cops if he ever saw me there again.. I _begged_ him, told him that Eddie and I would die if we didn`t have food. But he didn`t care..” she says, fresh tears cascading down her cheeks. She looks at Merle briefly, then back to Glenn. “When I got home, there was a crate on the front porch, and it was _full_ of groceries. And every week for about a year I would find another one. It kept us alive.. I didn`t know where it was coming from, until one day I saw him from the window. It was Merle. You can imagine my surprise..” she says, a small wet chuckle at the last part.

“I didn`t think ya knew..” Merle says quietly and she smiles sadly. “I knew.. Why do you think I always patched you up after fights? Even when you were being a total dick?” she replies, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. He snorts, shaking his head. “I jus` figured it was my charmin` personality” he quips and she laughs a little before turning back to Glenn. “Merle is a lot of things, but he`s not evil.. He does a lot of stupid shit and he has a mouth on him that would send sailors running, but there`s some good in him underneath it all.. So just, _please_.. Put your gun down..” she pleads with Glenn. Everyone holds their breaths as the seconds tick by, but eventually he lowers his gun and Merle does the same.

 

#

 

“I never knew ya did that..” Daryl says quietly to his brother while Jay is still talking to Glenn a few feet away. Merle looks uncomfortable with this particular topic, like it was a chore to be looked at as anything but a cold-hearted bastard. “Yeah, well, it was probably my drugs that Billy got himself hooked on in the first place, so don`t ya go thinkin` I`m a saint or somethin`” he scoffs, but Daryl knows that Merle didn`t have to help them. There was nothing in it for him to feed a couple of kids. He couldn`t help but feel a bit proud of him for that.

“You know I never would have hurt you, right?” Glenn says a little sheepishly and Jay smiles tentatively. “I`d like to think you wouldn`t at the very least” she replies and he looks at the floor. She puts her hand on his shoulder and squeezes gently. “We`re alright, Glenn. But do me a favor, would you?” she asks and he looks at her curiously. “Next time you feel like killing Merle, could you use a knife or something? Because I _really_ hate guns..” she says while trying to keep a straight face. He snorts a startled laugh and nods. “I`ll consider that..” he says wryly and she chuckles. “Glad to hear it” she replies and hugs him, wanting to show him that she was still his friend. He seemed to relax a lot more then and smiled.

Daryl`s eyesbrows nearly disappeared into his hairline when Jay walked over to Merle and pulled him into a hug too. Merle looked very tense and unsure for a moment, but then he slowly closed his arms around her, pulling her closer. It was nice to hold someone who didn`t hate his guts for once.. She was warm and soft... and his brother`s.. Which was good to remember. He looked away when they parted and cleared his throat, feeling a little awkward. Daryl squinted at him curiously, because was Merle... _blushing_...? Holy shit.. He was.. “Well.. I got some stuff to do.. Um.. I`ll see ya both later..” Merle managed to get out and then practically bolted from the room. Daryl snorts in a sort of amused disbelief.

Meanwhile, Rick watched it all from the doorway with a small smile, thinking that Jay sure was full of surprises.. The word _adaptable_ came to mind, as she had the uncanny ability to adapt to any situation and be whatever she needed to be, to make things work. A soldier, a friend, a healer, leader or follower. She wore many hats, and in the end she could turn out to be just what they all need to keep going..

 

##

 

Jay felt that she was fit enough to go with Daryl to check the traps again. He worried that she was pushing herself too hard and that she would end up hurting more at the end of the day, but he knew that it was an argument he would inevitably lose, so he grumpily agreed to it. They had barely made it across the yard when Maggie rushed up to them and hugged Jay fiercely while Daryl raised an eyebrow. She had just learned what had happened between Glenn and Merle, and how Jay had stopped them from shooting each other. “Thank you..” she breathed and Jay squeezed her back in silent `You`re welcome`.

Out on the trail, walking among the trees, Jay seemed so much more relaxed, at peace. She hadn`t been this calm since before Woodbury. And that`s when Daryl realised that she really needed this. She was like him in that way, she needed the freedom of the outdoors just to breathe once in a while, to heal. And just like that, his reservations about her tagging along again so soon, was gone.

“How come ya never told me `bout Merle and the food?” he asked as they bagged a rabbit and reset the first trap. Jay shrugged. “Never really came up.. Besides, I didn`t tell _anyone_ , not just you..” she says pointedly and loops her arm around his as they walk. “I guess I was ashamed, of my brother, of my life, and I didn`t want anyone to know just how bad it got..” she tells him honestly and he hums to himself. He of all people could understand that. She clings to his arm a little,a slight wince passing over her face that makes him stop and look at her worriedly. “You`re hurtin`. We should head back. I can check the rest of the traps later” he says, but she shakes her head. “I`m fine, just need to walk a little slower is all” she replies, nudging him so that they`ll start moving again and he sighs.  _stubborn woman_.. “Alright.. But I better not have to carry ya again jus` cuz ya can`t swallow ya damn pride” he grumbles and she chuckles. “Well, if that ain`t the pot calling the kettle black” she muses and he huffs.

#

 

The easier pace and gentle support from Daryl`s arm works, and they get through both the second and third trap location. But something is raising the hairs on the back of Jay`s neck and she starts to feel uneasy. Daryl feels eyes on them suddenly and he tenses, heart beating faster. “Jay..” he whispers against her ear and she squeezes his arm. “I know..” she whispers back. She had spotted movement in the corner of her eye just a few seconds before he spoke. She kisses him sweetly as a cover while they slow to a stop. “Your ten o`clock” she whispers, discretely handing him a blade from her belt and he nods. The crossbow would take too long as it`s firmly strapped to his back so he could help Jay walk easier without it getting in the way. “Hide” he whispers back and she nods reluctantly, knowing she can`t move good enough to do much active fighting right now.

Jay ducks behind a tree the moment he turns and throws, he does the same right after throwing, though they both hear the blade hitting it`s target, the pained grunt from the bushes tells them as much. There could be others so they don`t take any chances. She draws the small gun he had given her earlier this week from the back of her jeans, clicking off the safety. She hates even having the damn thing in her hand, but she`s glad she has it at the same time. To her left she sees Daryl load an arrow onto his crossbow, looking back at her when he`s ready. His eyes widening suddenly in fear gives her enough warning that something`s behind her and she drops down low, hearing the familiar swish of an arrow pass over her a second after. She looks over her shoulder and sees her would-be assailant for the first time. The tall, bald man with beedy little eyes looks like he just stepped out of a Mad Max production, with all the leather and spikes, and horrible teeth. He stumbles backwards a few steps, staring at the arrow in his chest with disbelief, before finally falling to the ground. Daryl is by her side in an instant, cupping her jaw with his left hand, crossbow firmly in his right. She gives him a reassuring nod to tell him she`s okay.

As she stands over the large man in the bushes who has Jay`s knife in his shoulder, she keeps her gun pointed at his head while Daryl makes sure the other one is good and dead. The man before her is all leather and spikes too, though this one is bigger, has a mohawk and more importantly is still alive. “Are there more of you?” she asks the man, steel in her voice. “Fuck you, Bitch!” the man spits, clutching the handle of the knife sticking out of his shoulder, gritting his yellow teeth against the pain. She raises an eyebrow. “Now is that any way to talk to a lady?” she replies steadily, unimpressed. Daryl steps up beside her, glaring daggers into the wounded man on the ground. “Ya best answer her, unless ya want an arrow in ya balls” he growls, pointing his crossbow in said direction. The man`s eyes widen almost comically. Jay smirks. “He means it, in case you were wondering” she adds with a wink and the man swallows.

 

#

 

“So it was just the two of them?” Rick asks seriously, and the couple exchanges a wry look between them. “He weren`t lying. Man nearly pissed himself from fright..” Daryl replies, a tinge of pride in his tone, though if it was because of the results or his fearless girlfriend was unclear. ”Guess that solves the mystery of the tracks you found..” Rick thinks out loud and Daryl hums in agreement. “I figure they were watchin` the place for a while, then saw us and thought they`d get themselves some hostages. Dumbasses didn`t know who they were fuckin` with” he says, laying his arm around her shoulders and this time the pride is clear, for they really were the perfect team out there. She ducked her head in a rare display of shyness. "Did you kill him?" Rick asks, people like that were a threat to them after all. "I had to. Shot him in the head when he lunged for Daryl.." she replies quietly, not liking the reminder and Rick nods in acknowledgement. 

“So the gun worked out well fer ya, huh?” Merle asks with a smirk that makes Jay look at Daryl, who`s suddenly finding his shoes very interesting. “You gave me the gun he stole, didn`t you?” she asks with a sigh and her boyfriend`s sheepish expression says it all. She rolls her eyes. “Dixons..” she mutters under her breath, much to Rick`s amusement.

 

#

 

There`s usually a chair outside of the door to the shower rooms, but when Carol walked by she discovered it was missing and she frowned. Then she saw Daryl`s crossbow and Jay`s denim jacket on the floor and chuckled to herself in understanding. For Daryl had propped the chair up underneath the doorhandle from the inside, it worked just as well as any lock would..

The rush from the fight hadn`t quite left either them, and they both needed this, to be _close_ , to know that they had survived another threat. Daryl washed her hair and her back with such tenderness that she felt tears in her eyes as he dropped a kiss to her shoulder, the scruffy texture of his goatee tickled her wet skin. He pressed himself flush against her back, his rough hands gentle as they trailed across her belly. She put her hands on his and leaned into his embrace, cherishing every bit of contact. One finger carefully circle the scarred area of her side, it was still sore, but he was gentle enough so it didn`t hurt. He wished he could just snap his fingers and make it go away, as it was a constant reminder that she had almost died for him. Jay saw it differently, she saw it as hard proof of her love and devotion to him, and of her strength. She always had a way with words, something that Daryl felt distinctly lacking in, but there were other ways of showing his love he thought.. As he kept kissing and nibbling on her neck and shoulder, she noticed that he seemed a little nervous, and she had just enough time to wonder why before his right hand started to move lower..

Gently parting those sensitive folds with his index and ring finger, he let his middle finger slide up and down the middle and she gasped. This was the first time he had initiated anything sexual between them and so it caught her a little of guard. He was hesitant at first, unsure, but slowly growing bolder with every sigh she gave him. She pushed a little against his hand and moaned softly, and he smiled against her neck. She almost whined when he pulled back his hand, he chuckled and turned her around, pushing her against the wall and kissing her deeply. He was determined to make at least part of one his fantasies come true, in this case the one he had when she first got here and he saw her in this very shower. He kneeled, running his hands along her hips and thighs, she shivered in antipacitation and bit her lip.

The first touch of that curious tongue nearly had her knees buckling beneath her. “Oh fuck..” she breathed, making him feel more confident as he licked and massaged those sweet tasting folds. Like in his fantasy, he lifted one of her legs and put it over his shoulder for better access, and she moaned and squirmed against the wall, threading her fingers through his wet hair. _God_ , it had been so long since anyone had gone down on her and he was surprisingly amazing at it. He sunk one of his fingers inside her and moaned against her pussy at the feeling of that warm and tight passage, remembering how it felt around his cock, which gives an empathic twitch at the memory. “Ah, Jesus, Daryl.. To Hell with healing, get up here, I need you to fuck me” she says breathlessly, and he has to lean his forhead against her hip for a moment to steady himself.

She wraps her arms around his neck for support as he very carefully lifts her up in his strong arms, she immidiately locks her legs around his waist, ankles crossed on his back. “Is this okay?” he asks worriedly and she nods, kissing him hungrily. It`s a little uncomfortable, but she wants him too much to let a half-healed wound stop her. He bites his lip and looks at her the entire time while he lowers her onto his painfully hard cock, completely focused on her. If she shows any sign of pain, he will stop, and she knows it. She gasps and then sighs as she feels him fill her completely, _fuck_ , she`s missed this. Daryl is panting from the strain of holding back. “Alright?” he asks, needing confirmation and she smiles. “I am now” she says wryly and it startles a short laugh out of him.

She kisses him sweetly, tasting herself on his lips and pulling a little on his hair. Very gently he starts to move in tiny thrusts that grows eventually as he gets slightly drunk on her soft moans and wet kisses. She weighs practically nothing to him and the fact that he could so easily throw her around, turns her on even more.

For Daryl, having her like this is still something of a miracle to him. His hands are probably leaving bruises on her ass as he lifts her up and down in sync with his thrusting. Her inner walls twitch and spasms occationally and his hitched breaths turn into heavy groans, she feels amazing. “ _Fuck_.. So good..” he chokes out as he picks up speed, and she cries out in agreement when he hits that sweet spot inside her. The cold water has no effect on the heat these two are producing at the moment. She bites his neck and the feeling of her teeth on his skin is driving him crazy, it also makes him rougher. She clings to him for dear life as he starts pounding her against the wall, the sting of pain from her side only seems to enhance the pleasure she get`s from his cock, making it way more intense.

Her orgasm takes her completely by surprise, seemingly coming out of now where at a particulary hard thrust. She nearly screams at the sharp waves that runs through her entire body, leaving her a shaky, moaning mess. Daryl can`t help the burst of pride he feels at making her come like that, and he would have had one hell of a grin on his face if it wasn`t for the fact that she gets _twice_ as tight when she comes, and the way she squeezes his cock is too much and before he knows what hit him he`s coming hard inside her, groaning helplessly against her neck.

His legs were shaking almost violently beneath him, and he had to steady himself with a hand on the wall. He didn`t have to worry about dropping her though, because she was wrapped around him like a clingy octopus, which he would totally make fun of her for later.

 

#

 

As Hershel was checking her over later to make sure she hadn`t hurt herself any more during the... _fight_ , he kept sending Daryl these _looks_ that made the redneck..well, _red_ and stare at his shoes. Jay couldn`t figure out why until Maggie saw her and whispered something in her ear that made her shout; “You gave me a hickey?!”, loud enough to echo throughout the entire prison and Daryl cringed, while anyone who was fortunate or unfortunate enough to hear started laughing. Maggie then helpfully pointed out that it was more like four actually...

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure when I`ll be doing part three of the "Love among the dead" series, but at least I`m done with part two. Hope ya`ll enjoyed it ;) If you have any suggestions to where I should take the story in part three I would love to hear them! :)


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